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The Graveyard Book: A Novel

Book Description

In The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman has created a charming allegory of childhood. Although the book opens with a scary scene--a family is stabbed to death by "a man named Jack" --the story quickly moves into more child-friendly storytelling. The sole survivor of the attack--an 18-month-old baby--escapes his crib and his house, and toddles to a nearby graveyard. Quickly recognizing that the baby is... More

In The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman has created a charming allegory of childhood. Although the book opens with a scary scene--a family is stabbed to death by "a man named Jack" --the story quickly moves into more child-friendly storytelling. The sole survivor of the attack--an 18-month-old baby--escapes his crib and his house, and toddles to a nearby graveyard. Quickly recognizing that the baby is orphaned, the graveyard's ghostly residents adopt him, name him Nobody ("Bod"), and allow him to live in their tomb. Taking inspiration from Kipling's The Jungle Book, Gaiman describes how the toddler navigates among the headstones, asking a lot of questions and picking up the tricks of the living and the dead. In serial-like episodes, the story follows Bod's progress as he grows from baby to teen, learning life's lessons amid a cadre of the long-dead, ghouls, witches, intermittent human interlopers. A pallid, nocturnal guardian named Silas ensures that Bod receives food, books, and anything else he might need from the human world. Whenever the boy strays from his usual play among the headstones, he finds new dangers, learns his limitations and strengths, and acquires the skills he needs to survive within the confines of the graveyard and in wider world beyond. (ages 10 and up) --Heidi Broadhead

About Dave McKean (Author) : Dave McKean is a published author and an illustrator of children's books and young adult books. Some of the published credits of Dave McKean include The Graveyard Book LP, Coraline Movie Tie-in Editio... moreView Dave McKean's profile

About Neil Gaiman (Author) : Neil Gaiman is a published author, creator, and a narrator of children's books and young adult books. Some of the published credits of Neil Gaiman include Now We Are Sick, Coraline, American Gods (Una... moreView Neil Gaiman's profile

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4/5/2011 Laura Clement said: I am constantly amazed, impressed and in awe of Neil's writing, his imagination and wit. Once again he turns the world upside down and gives you a chance to move beyond the comfort of your imagination to somewhere deeper and darker.tags: I read

Neil Gaiman writes the most unusual, involving, sometimes frightening and always interesting novels. You can always count on him to surprise and amaze. This one is about a small boy who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard after his family is murdered. Neil Gaiman's books tend to have a lot of dark... more

Neil Gaiman writes the most unusual, involving, sometimes frightening and always interesting novels. You can always count on him to surprise and amaze. This one is about a small boy who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard after his family is murdered. Neil Gaiman's books tend to have a lot of dark humour in them, and i find them fascinating and "unputdownable". My favourite adult novel of Gaiman's is "Neverwhere".

10/16/2009 Emily Grandin said: Was a bit turned off Gaiman for a while but this book (and Coraline) really surprised me! Perfect fall reading... taken with tea of choice!tags: I read, I recommend, Inspired me

Newbery Winner 2009. I intensely disliked the first 1/2 of this book. It moved too slow. There seemed like there were too many characters. The imagery was good however. The second 1/2 moved much quicker. I began to enjoy it. There was more of a philosphical message played out. I enjoyed the h... more

Newbery Winner 2009. I intensely disliked the first 1/2 of this book. It moved too slow. There seemed like there were too many characters. The imagery was good however. The second 1/2 moved much quicker. I began to enjoy it. There was more of a philosphical message played out. I enjoyed the happy ending. Throughout reading it I kept wondering why did this book win the Newbery? Although I am not a literature scholar, I decided the story was complex. The characters were compelling. I could visualize the settings well. There was a deeper message at the end. This book could stand the test of time. Lexile is 820 - 4 & 5th grade. I thought it was more difficult to read than that.

7/28/2009 Tamara Schmidt said: I'm perplexed why this won the Newberry...I did not find the writing style or characters at all compelling - they were transparent as his ghosts. A good premise for a story, but it did not deliver for me.tags: I read

Never look at a cemetery the same again, such a interesting and different way of telling a ghost story. As usual for Neil Gaiman books, I started this one unsure how much I would read. It all sounds so strange in the beginning, but his writing seems to draw me in. Less than half way in I was attache... more

Never look at a cemetery the same again, such a interesting and different way of telling a ghost story. As usual for Neil Gaiman books, I started this one unsure how much I would read. It all sounds so strange in the beginning, but his writing seems to draw me in. Less than half way in I was attached to Bod and his unusual way of existing and learning and discovering. The character development is slow, but once that connection is found it was hard not to wonder what was going to happen in the graveyard next. It was well worth the wait.

7/9/2009 John Morath said: Jungle Book meets the Nightmare Before Christmas . . . Gaiman is an absolute genius! He has an uncanny ability to make otherwise impossible characters real--people (living and dead) that readers root for as if they were old friends.tags: Inspired me, I recommend

Gaiman, N. (2008). The Graveyard Book. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
9780060530938
After his family is murdered, a nameless toddler finds himself safe in an old graveyard and protected by the ghosts. Given the name Bod, short for Nobody Owens (Nobody Owns, get it?), he is taught by the... more

Gaiman, N. (2008). The Graveyard Book. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
9780060530938
After his family is murdered, a nameless toddler finds himself safe in an old graveyard and protected by the ghosts. Given the name Bod, short for Nobody Owens (Nobody Owns, get it?), he is taught by the ghosts and encounters a possible friend, ghouls, a witch, a grey lady, bullies etc. But he eventually must face the man who killed his family to finally be safe and ready to live.
While Bod ages throughout of the book, when he is supposedly six, he hardly feels like a child that young. The plot is engaging enough that older children should be willing to read to the book until Bod is closer to their own age. While there are some illustrations, the long chapters could discourage many readers. Of course, fifth or sixth grade students probably won’t mind any of this if the story is read aloud to them. (I’d probably only consider sharing the book with individual students younger than that on rare occasions, for fear of the potential frights the book might include. (While the ghosts are kind. Some ghouls (especially the 33rd president of the United States) and a “wet knife” still have the potential to frighten some children)
A teacher could emphasize the sense of community that exists in the graveyard. Or the experience of dealing with bullies that Bod has some suggestions about once he begins attending school.
What’s also great about this book is that the reader gets to witness the process of Bod learning to read and becoming a reader who loves books. Plus , the book shares the inevitable truth that each teenage girl should have a cell phone of her very own.
On an only slightly related note, I have been at war with Neil Gaiman for a few years now. He just doesn’t know it. I want him to stop scaring the wee little children with wolves in the walls, button-eyes, etc. and he wants to write successful books and win awards.
I’m biding my time.
I may, however, have to call a truce for The Graveyard Book. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still murder and fiendish characters. But the ghosts are fun and give Bod a safe and supportive environment. And they make me laugh.
Activities to do with the book:
Given the fact that most of the ghosts who live in the graveyard had lived in different centuries, a teacher could guide students in research into the various time periods. Of course, a student may need to provide some extra support to American students, since this is set in England and assumes the geography and history of Europe. Students could also do research projects on subject such as the humors, once believed to have medical significance.
This is a good read aloud. Together, students could speculate about the significance of various supernatural characters. With younger students, a teacher would probably have to pause as characters previously introduced are reintroduced much later in the text.
Favorite Quotes:
“There was a hand in the darkness and it held a knife. The knife had a handle of polished black bone, and a blade finer and sharper than any razor. If it sliced you, you might not even know you had been cut, not immediately” (pp. 2-5).
“It is going to take more than just a couple of good-hearted souls to raise this child. It will,” said Silas, “take a graveyard” (p. 23).
“It’s the first nice thing anyone’s done for me in five hundred years” (p. 131).
“For soon enough, tomorrow night comes. And how often can a man say that?”
“Every night,” said Bod. “tomorrow night always comes” (p. 147).
For more of my reviews, visit sjkessel.blogspot.com.

The first thing that comes to my mind when I try to describe The Graveyard Book is “interesting format”. Instead of being a continuous tale over a shortish period of time broken up into chapters, The Graveyard Book is a series of short stories, with each telling a tale from a different period in... more

The first thing that comes to my mind when I try to describe The Graveyard Book is “interesting format”. Instead of being a continuous tale over a shortish period of time broken up into chapters, The Graveyard Book is a series of short stories, with each telling a tale from a different period in Bod’s life amongst the dead of the Graveyard.
Each of these stories is both open and closed, and this is one of the book’s greatest strengths. Each adventure/tale is complete, but when pieced together the short stories tell the whole tale. In a way it is like being shown a photo album of a person’s life and being told the story accompanying each - there are still blanks, but the feel and the major events are still there. In other cases this format might not work, but Gaiman handles it beautifully and the format becomes an asset, and not a problem.
Like with the other Gaiman stories I have read, the characters of The Graveyard Book definitely make the story. Each one of them has their own little quirks and ideals, and it was interesting to watch how Bod’s relationship with them changed as he grew old - and they, being dead, did not. I found myself wishing for more information about these characters because of little glimpses of who they were and what they were doing (like the young couple who died several decades apart and are now stepping out together) but the way it was handled it was enough at the same time. As Bod grew up, so did his view - and thus ours - of the different characters changed, which was a pleasant thing to see. From the Owenses, to Silas to Miss Lupescu to Liza Hempstock and to the rest of the dead society, each are portrayed as different, interesting and unique people, and overall I loved the concept of a community within a graveyard.
For those of you who like interesting, quirky and Gaiman-y type tales with characters that belong in that world, then the collection of stories inside The Graveyard Book will definitely appeal.
Five stars.

Neil Gaiman has mastered adding creepiness to a story that takes the reader to a brand new level. I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this up, and I haven't found a Gaiman book that I haven't enjoyed. The story was very original and well told.
The only thing I might add is that I'm unsure ... more

Neil Gaiman has mastered adding creepiness to a story that takes the reader to a brand new level. I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this up, and I haven't found a Gaiman book that I haven't enjoyed. The story was very original and well told.
The only thing I might add is that I'm unsure that I'd allow my soon-to-be nine-year-old read this book yet. There is a certain creepiness to it that I don't believe my nine-year-old could handle.

1/28/2009 Brooke Frautschi said: I have just listened to your videos. That first chapter is pretty frightening, especially when you speak of leather gloves and you are wearing a leather jacket! Great details. I did much better in the second chapter - loved the dialogue.
Congratulations.
Brooke